Menu

Old Reliable

I’m going to just pretend that those genetically mutated primates have let poor Mr. Lawrence go, and he’s plugging away at pre-production on Catching Fire. Hm, but what’s one of our most favorite things about pre-production? Why, casting of course! I know, I know — I’ve pretty much fantasy cast this damn franchise into the next century, but I hate to inform you, I’m so not done. Nope, not even close, ’cause as certain people can tell you, I am really good at fantasy casting — hell, I come up with people who other people would never think of, and then when they’re brought to their attention they go “how could I have not thought of them before? They’re perfect!”

I love being braggadocious as much as the next person, and you’ll have to admit that it’s refreshing that I never pull my fantasy casts from cast members of current CW series’, Disney, or MTV — hell I don’t even tend to pull from network TV at all. So, yay me, and my incredible brain, or whatever. Anyway, I pulled this next fantasy cast out of not thin air at all, in fact I’d like to dub this one “Them There Eyes’ most logical fantasy cast ever”, y’know, minus my favorite one, which I don’t think I even have to add a link to for you to remember who that one is.

Mr. Hal Holbrook, does that name ring a bell? If not, kindly go Google him right now. No really, I’ll wait until you peruse his IMDB page for a tick, so then I don’t have to really explain why I think he’s kind of destined to be part of the cast of Catching Fire. Okay, fine — if you’re too lazy to look, I’ll tell you. Mr. Holbrook is a veteran actor, his career spans all the way back to the early 1950s when television was just getting its ugly time-wasting paws on the unsuspecting public. Wait, I skipped something vitally important, just what character he’s destined to play, or better yet — perfect for. Does the name Woof mean anything to you? I hope it does! Woof as you hopefully remember was a District 8 Victor who was reaped into playing in the 75th Hunger Games. He’s described to be around Mags’ age, so my take is he’s in his 70s to his 90s, he’s senile, and he’s pretty much on his last legs. However, he’s sweet and he was, as it turns out, a member of the alliance formed to help Katniss out in the arena. Back to Holbrook! Holbrook is 87 years old, perfect huh? Not only does his age work in his favor, but here’s a few clinchers to sweeten the deal: He’s not opposed to playing roles that are decidedly on the small side, which is oh so important as Woof will likely only be in a handful of scenes. Holbrook is an award-winning and nominated actor, much like the returning principal cast. And here’s the cherry on top: He’s already worked with Francis Lawrence in Water for Elephants, where he was in only three scenes, but they were extremely important scenes, and as Lawrence was recorded saying on the DVD commentary on said film, “he got 90% of the laughs…” That bodes well for the hypothetical performance he could bring to his portrayal of Woof, who is supposed to be comic relief. Honestly though if Lawrence is going pull from casts of his previous works Holbrook is flat-out at the top of the list of people he’s worked with who would not over power the returning cast members, or over shadow them. People he has worked with in the past who would over shadow the existing principle cast are as follows: Keanu Reeves, Will Smith, Shia LeBeouf, Robert Pattinson, and I hate to say it but — Reese Witherspoon, and Lady Gaga.

Okay, so what do you think? Also, could someone kindly inform me why when you do a Google image search using the search term “old reliable”, you get an uncomfortable amount of images of the naked male form? Okay great, have a nice day!

Post navigation

2 comments

I like the Hal Holbrook idea! Even though he’s a smaller character in the book, why not fantasy cast him also? My husband (who is NOT a reader) is finishing up the series (he read it all within a week- go THG for a series both my husband and I have enjoyed!) and so we’re now fantasy casting everyone. I agree with most of your ideas. But here’s our hang up: Heavensbee. Is he older or younger? I say older and imagine someone like Stellan Skarsgard or Liam Neeson. But my husband says someone younger, closer to Wes Bentley’s age. What do you think?